Devin Moran looks to build on positives from 2018

The first half of Devin Moran’s 2018 season may not have gone exactly the way he would have liked but the Dresden, OH driver has more than made up for that since June. Over the second half of this year’s campaign, the 24-year-old has compiled five victories, including a $30,000 triumph in the prestigious Prairie Dirt Classic at the Fairbury American Legion Speedway in Illinois. Ultimately, the second generation racer finished fourth in the final World of Outlaws Late Model Series standings leaving the driver and his team very satisfied with their overall efforts.

“We definitely had a slow start to the year because we couldn’t really find a great package for us,” Moran pointed out in an interview with InsideDirtRacing.com. “But there in late May we started getting things rolling a little bit. After that, we had a really good year, the best year I’ve ever had. We feel pretty blessed for everything that went our way and things are still rolling all right.”

Needless to say, Moran was most pleased with the Fairbury win. That victory was not only a financial benefit to his efforts but it provided the confidence to know that he and his team could win major Dirt Late Model events.

“That was pretty cool,” the driver of the No. 9 car declared. “Last year was the first time I was ever up there and we ran really, really good. For some reason that’s like the places I grew up on. I don’t know, I run pretty good there. It was exciting to go up there and get my first crown jewel win.”

And further, the victory served as proof that their abilities as a team could overcome a relative lack of experience at tracks where they have not raced very often.

“For not really racing there that much, only twice, to go there and run as good as we did was really awesome with the cars that we were racing against,” Moran added. “It’s really a special event. A lot of people see it on video but they don’t get to go and watch it live. It’s even cooler when it’s live. Hopefully we can keep this momentum rolling the rest of this year then start off strong next year at SpeedWeeks.”

Moran’s No. 9 Rocket Chassis car

Moran’s efforts in racing are very much linked to his family. His father, noted racer Donnie Moran, and his brother Wylie work along with the young driver to handle virtually all of the chores related to keeping a team on the road and on the track.

With the end of the 2018 campaign drawing close, the team looks to begin making preparations for the next season. Their hope is to carry the momentum of the past few months right into the Georgia-Florida SpeedWeeks segment of the 2019 schedule that will take place in February. That momentum comes from two wins on the WoO Late Models tour along with 23 top-5 and 31 top-10 finishes with that series.

Donnie, Wylie, and Devin Moran

“I think we just kind of assess the year and take a couple of weeks off,” Moran explained. “Me and Wylie are definitely worn out. It’s just us two but we’ve got some changes going on this off season to figure a way to make it more than just me and Wylie working on the car. It gets pretty tough for us. We get back at it and go through everything and try to figure out how to have an advantage on everybody then show up in February hopefully running strong.”

Moran, who recently collected $15,000 for an unsanctioned Late Model win at Mississippi’s Whynot Motorsports Park, relies on his Hall of Fame father for advice as well as his brother for helping get the car ready to race.

And Moran is thankful for the close-knit family relationships that he has.

“I’m telling you, it’s pretty awesome,” Moran said. “Dad kind of leaves us on our own and drives the truck. I obviously get some advice from him but it’s pretty much me and Wylie out there. We have our bedrooms on complete opposite ends of the house so when it’s time to leave the shop we can get away from each other for a little bit, but we still hang out and do some stuff together. But honestly, I know we bicker a little bit but we don’t fight too often. It’s pretty cool to have a relationship like that with my brother. Not many people can do that.”

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